Memoir
by Rayza16
Summary: Ash and co. decide pay a little visit to his friends and family but when Ash starts acting wierd the others become worried about him. What could it be thats bothering him? Will Misty's love be just the thing to save him? Read on and find out.


Well, this is my very first fanfiction and I hope it gets good reviews. I spent almost a whole week writing this fic and I must say I'm very proud of myself . The idea kind of came to me whilst writing another story and I thought it would be fun to write this as a little break from my main project. I spent a great deal of effort on this thing so please take the time to read, enjoy, and gimme your feedback!

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

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**Memoir**

The light from the setting sun shone down unto the large city. On every street, around every corner, each building was covered with paintings of many different flowers. From tulips to azaleas almost every blossom you could think of was up for display on every one of the green and white buildings. For visitors this was a form of eye candy, for lovers it was a romantic venture, but for the residents of Celadon City it was longstanding tradition to paint flowers on the sides of your home, shop, or whatever.

At the city core a group of three travelers had stopped for a rest next to a large fountain where in the center of its circular structure was a small dais. Seated atop the dais was a stone Venasaur spouting a large pillar of water out of the flower on its back. Two of the travelers were arguing while one was seated on the fountains edge reading a copy of Pokemon Breeders Weekly whilst trying to ignore them. In his lap were the two quarrelers pokemon: an adolescent Pikachu and an almost newborn Togepi who were fast asleep back-to-back.

"You are so insensitive! Does the word _compliment _mean anything to you?" growled the teenage redhead with unsuppressed rage.

"What? Its just perfume! Why are you making a big deal out of this?" A boy of around the same age glared at her through the strands of night black hair that fell around his face.

"I only asked you if I smelled nice, you didn't have to be an insensitive jerk!"

"Oh so just because I said that all perfume smells like weeds out of the ground…"

"You have no idea how to treat a lady, god I feel sorry for your future wife."

The little yellow rodent in Brock's lap suddenly uncurled itself and yawned. "(Are they fighting again?)" It asked lazily. Brock answered by scratching it behind its ears.

Ash who was now fuming at the last comment bellowed, "I don't know what the hell your problem is or why you even waste your money on that stuff! Its not like its gonna make you Misty, who reek of a Gloom smell any better!"

Brock who wasn't paying any attention before now looked up at the two. Even Pikachu who was still half asleep inclined its head to watch.

Now it was Mistys turn to fume. "Fine! Forget I asked you!" and with that she stormed off down the road.

Ash sighed then frowned and shook his head. Brock folded up his magazine, stuck it in his back pocket and walked slowly over to Ash. "I think you went a little overboard with that last comment." He remarked.

"Chuu." Pikachu agreed.

Togepi who had awoken during the squabble stared confusedly down the road at where its mother had gone. "Prii?"

"Its her own damn fault." He said stubbornly. Brock knew better than to argue with him. If he tried convince him of his folly Ash would only go off at _him_ next.

"Its almost 7:30," he said "We'd better get back to the Pokemon Center."

Ash muttered a 'fine' and started walking. "I wanna stop by somewhere first though." Brock nodded.

On the way to the Center Ash stopped and told Brock "Just wait here I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"Just wait here." He repeated and dashed around the corner. Brock was a little confused as to why Ash didn't want him to come with him, but all perplexion died down when his best friend rounded the corner again with a slight bulge in his pocket.

"Okay I'm ready." So the two of them walked down to the Center to turn in for the night.

The alarm clock in their assigned room buzzed to life suddenly, unnecessarily however, because they had gotten up the hour before. Ash and Brock hurriedly tried to get their things together; they wanted to make it back to Pallet Town before evening.

Ash having just stuffed the rest of his T-Shirts into his backpack hoisted it over his shoulder and was just about to leave the room when he felt something pulling at his pant leg. Looking down, he saw Pikachu tugging at him with the item he bought the day before clamped between his jaws.

"Oh, thanks pal." He said gratefully taking the object and stuffing it into the front part of his bag.

"What'cha got there?" Brock asked craning his neck in an attempt to see what Ash was holding.

"Nothing," he said and quickly zipped up his bag. Suddenly they heard a knock on the door. Ash turned the lock and opened the door and stood face to face with a disgruntled Misty. "Oh, hi Ash…"

"Hey." He said nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Um, I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I mean…"

"No, don't. It was my fault. I shouldn't have insulted you the way I did. I was being dumb and immature and I'm sorry Mist. I'm really, really sorry."

Misty smiled. His apology seemed sincere, and she was just glad to be back on good terms with him.

"It's okay." She said and gave him a hug.

"Toge!"

"Togepi!" she cried, and the little egg pokemon waddled over into her arms.

Brock grunted as he hoisted his large sleeping bag over his shoulders. "We better get going, breakfast ends in half an hour." He remarked. Ash and Misty gave their 'okay's and together they walked into the lobby where the smell of pancakes, eggs, bacon and other such food wafted into the air.

During their meal Ash remarked, "You know, you did smell nice yesterday."

She looked up, "Really?"

"Yeah," he said, "it was very…evanescent." He said and grinned sheepishly. "What type was it?"

Pikachu, who was seated on Ash's lap sucking at the packets of ketchup peeked up at its master and chuckled silently to himself.

Misty smiled and closed her eyes "Fragrance of Vileplume."

"It suits you." He said.

Misty opened her aqua blue eyes and stared into his chocolate colored ones.

"Ash Ketchum there may be hope for you yet."

After breakfast they set off down the road toward Pallet and managed to reach there before noon. Approaching Ash's house they found Mrs. Ketchum hoeing in her front yard. She heard the sound of footsteps and looked behind her only to find her son and his friends coming towards her smiling brightly.

Dropping her hoe she ran towards them and gave them each a big squeeze. "Ash! How are you dear? You look exhausted, were you jogging in the sun again? God, its so great to have you home! I need to cook a large meal for you right away!"

Ash and his friends laughed. "It's good to see you too mom."

After a few more hellos and how are you's the gang decided to each spend the day to their own favor. Delia and Misty went shopping, whilst Brock and Ash paid a visit to Professor Oak. The good Professor was as happy to see them as his mom was and greeted them wholeheartedly.

Ash was delighted to see his childhood mentor again as was Brock to be on his compound. The many different species of pokemon living together in their natural habitats was a great place for any breeder to be.

After inviting them in and getting reacquainted, Brock decided to go outside and check out the pack of Vulpix that usually congregated around the pond. Ash was seated on the couch while Professor Oak was examining his PokeDex.

"Well, it seems as if you've been quite busy on your journeys. Wa? What's this? An Articuno! That's one of the rarest kind of Pokemon there are!"

"Yeah, we saw it while traveling up through Frostbite Mountain. The blizzard was pretty heavy and we couldn't even see the road, then we heard this soft cooing and we looked up and there he was! I couldn't believe it! I almost had Pikachu do a thundershock so I could capture it! It lead us out of the storm and back towards the city."

The Professor nodded understandingly. "Yes. Articuno are said to appear to lost travelers from time to time." He was about to ask something else but then noticed that Ash's expression had changed. He was staring at the calendar with a sad look on his face.

The Professor was puzzled on the sudden changed but then looked over at the calender and realized what date it was. Suddenly he realized.

"Ash…" he began to say, but Ash shook his head and got up. "It's getting late. I better get back home, mom's gonna have dinner ready soon. I'll talk to you later Professor."

Professor Oak nodded but didn't say anything. Ash made a quick dash outside to collect Brock then strided back towards his home.

During dinner the atmosphere was joyful. Mrs. Ketchum, Brock and Misty were wrapped in conversation, while Pikachu was trying to feed Togepi some mashed potatoes and laughing as she was messing up her face.

"I remember when we were going through the Orange Islands," Misty was saying "We had stopped on the ocean for lunch, and Lapras was catching fish in her mouth. Brock was swimming and dove under for a few seconds," she said giggling. "Then he came up right where Lapras was feeding." She laughed. "She clamped down on his head and hoisted him out of the water. He was dangling from her mouth and screaming 'Let me go! Let me go!'"

Delia Ketchum burst into laughter. Brock just blushed. "Hey, how was I supposed to know those fish were her lunch?"

"What about Ash?" asked Delia. "Has anything embarrassing happened to him?"

Everyone stared at Ash who had been silent all throughout dinner.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Come on Ash," Misty encouraged. "Tell her about your pokemon journey."

"What is there to tell?" he snapped "I just traveled all over and catch pokemon. What do you expect, I discovered Atlantis?"

Brock frowned. "You don't have to be so rude."

"Whatever." He grumbled.

"Ash," his mother spoke in that motherly concern voice "sweetie, is there something wrong?"

"No."

"Are you still mad about yesterday?" Misty asked

"I apologized didn't I?"

"Then why the attitude problem?"

"What attitude problem?" he asked arrogantly

"The fact that your acting like a child." She answered coolly

He burst out "I said nothing is wrong dammit!"

"Ash!" his mother cut in "Quit acting that way!"

Ash growled and got up from the table. "I'm not hungry." He said.

Still fuming, he jogged up the stairs to his room door and went inside. Placing his hat down on the bedside table, he buried his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Misty walked through the foyer.

"Ash, _what_ is your problem?" she asked hotly.

Ash let out a sigh, frowned and stared out the window.

"Your mother just wanted to know how you've been doing, that doesn't mean you have to act like a spoiled child."

"I am not a child!" he hollered.

"Your sure acting like one."

"Leave me alone, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me." She said and sat down next to him on the bed.

"I said go away!" he shouted.

"Fine!" she shouted. "Be that way! See if I care!" she walked back out the foyer and slammed the door.

Professor Samuel Oak ran his wrinkled fingers through his dull yellow hair and absent-mindedly sipped his coffee. How long had it been now, almost seven years? Yes, that's right. All that time and the boy still felt it deep within his heart. Still felt the anger, the pain, and the sadness. Samuel remembered as if it were only yesterday. It had such a harsh effect on the family, especially Delia. She kept blaming herself; she kept saying it was her fault. But however many times she ran through it in her mind, she knew in her heart there was nothing she could have done. And Ash, oh the poor boy.

Finishing his coffee, he stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the fenced in area that held the dozens of Tauros Ash had captured in the Safari Zone. Well, he was going to have to come to terms with it eventually. He thought to himself. One way or the other, even if it tore at him from the inside out.

Ash's mom entered his room the next day in order to bring some clean laundry to her son. Laying the freshly ironed clothes on the bunk bed adjacent to him, she sat down on his bed. "Ash, are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

Ash, who was lying on his side, wearing his black cutoff T-Shirt, jeans, and socks, did not answer. He laid facing out the window, his eyes bloodshot and swollen, a clear sign he'd been crying.

"What is it sweetie, tell me."

He was fidgeting with a stuffed Squirtle doll that had been on his bedside table since he was five. "Go away." He hissed.

"Don't you think your getting to old for those things?"

"No." he said and placed it back on the table.

"Why are you so upset honey? Did someone do something to you?" she reached over and stroked her sons hair. At the feel of her touch, his body tightened like a steel cable. The sudden outburst surprised her.

"Just, GO AWAY!" he hollered.

Delia stood up and looked down angrily at her son. "That's enough! I'm not having any of this behavior. You can either get over what ever is troubling you or you can just sit there and mope all the live long day! Ash, we all have problems okay? But we don't just sit there and cry over them. We deal with them. And that's what you need to do. Until then don't get uncouth with me, because I will NOT put up with it!"

Ash let out a small cough then he shut his eyes tight and firmly bit his lower lip to stop it from quivering.

Delia moved down toward Ash and enveloped him in a big hug. "I'm sorry Ash. I-I don't know why I said that. Look hun, I bought tickets for us to go to the fair in Viridian. You can come if you want but if you ever want to talk about this. You know you can always come to me."

She gave him another hug and a kiss on the cheek, and then left him to his own company. Ash buried his face in his arms and cried.

Misty had barley slept the night before, the confrontation with Ash playing over and over in her mind.

What in the world was bothering him? She wondered. Was it something she did? Had that apology he had given her yesterday been a load of bull? Had he said it just to make her feel better?

Sighing, she shut her eyes tight and pulled the pillow over her head trying to block out the rest of the world.

Drawing her legs up to her chest she tried her best not to cry. Did he hate her?

"Toge?" her little egg pokemon asked. Misty flinched as her room door opened.

"Calm down it's just me." Brock said as he walked inside.

She sighed. "You startled me."

"You wanna take a walk?" he asked.

"Mmm mmm." She sat up and shook her head.

"You okay?" he inquired.

"I'm fine," she answered petting Togepi's front spike "Its Ash who needs counseling."

"Pika." Pikachu said and leaped onto her lap 'Hey Pikachu." She said and scratched under his chin.

"Is he still mad at you?"

"I don't know." She said frustrated, and exhaled sharply. "You know what, I don't care. If he wants to act this way let him. I've got better things to do than worry about his stupid feelings." But even as she said this, she knew it wasn't true.

Brock knew it wasn't true either but he decided not to push any further. "Hey uh, Mrs. Ketchum got us these tickets too a fair in Viridian." He said holding up the one that was intended for her.

She stared at it for a moment then smiled. "Great. At least some of us will have a good time on this visit."

"Well, hurry up and get ready. Were leaving in twenty minutes."

"Alright, just tell Ash's mom I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." Brock said and he and Pikachu exited the room.

Mrs. Ketchum, Pikachu and Brock were standing in wait when Misty came downstairs with Togepi in her arms. Delia stared up the stairs one more time before exiting out the front door. I guess he isn't coming after all, she thought.

It could sense him. Close now. Yes, yes, he was very close. It was latched on to the boy's emotions like a leech to an animals flesh. He was sad, he was very sad, and his sadness was drawing It towards him.

It was floating above his home now, silent and invisible. Out of the front door came three people: A middle aged woman with long auburn hair tied back into a low ponytail, a teenage girl carrying a Togepi, wearing shorts with red suspenders over a yellow tank top and short red hair tied into a sideways ponytail, and another teenager. This one a male, short spiky brown hair, chocolate colored skin and thin slitted eyelids. He had a Pikachu on one shoulder.

But directly in front of It was the one who was drawing It towards him: a skinny, depressed, boy with jet-black hair. He was looking out of the window down at the three people with a serious look on his face. It quickly moved forward and dived through the window and into his room.

Ash watched from his bedroom window as the lot of them headed down the road. He pulled the curtains across and sat down on the bed, his head in his hands. Why did he have to be such an ass? Why did he have to lash out at his friends and family? He was just about to start crying again when all of a sudden he felt someone in the room with him.

Looking up, however, he saw nothing, only his shadow on the wall. He shook his head and tried to shake off the feeling but then the shadow moved.

Ash's body froze with fear. That wasn't his shadow, that was…..what was that?

Whatever it was it moved all around his room. Then, it moved over through the crease in the door and disappeared through it.

Ash suddenly got an urge and got up and left his room. Running down the stairs two at a time he quickly dashed out his front door, leaving his house as silent as the dead.

At the fair Misty was definitely not enjoying herself. A little ways off to her left a group of kids were being entertained by the theatrics of a Mr. Mime. They giggled and laughed and clapped their hands and one of them even pleaded, "Do some more! Do some more!"

Misty felt pale. She walked over to a bench and sat down. Ash was in trouble, and she needed to help him. But how? How was she going to help him when he didn't even want her around him?

Brock came and sat down by her. "Hey, you alright?"

She sniffled and shook her head.

He put an arm around her shoulders and rubbed her back. "Look I'm sure he'll be ok. You know Ash; he's always been the immature type. Whatever it is, he'll get over it. And before you know it we'll have the old Ash back."

She nodded "I hope so but," she rubbed her eyes with her wrists "but I feel like I could be doing something to help. Like I could be comforting him somehow, instead I'm here at this stupid fair having fun."

"Your not having fun." He stated dimly

"No shit." She replied "I can't have fun while he is in a state of turmoil. I just can't stand it when he's like this. What am I gonna do?"

Brock understood. He knew right from the very start how Misty felt about Ash. She had confided in him when her feelings had first surfaced, being the big brother figure that he was, and he had listened and assured her what she was feeling was perfectly fine, and that one day maybe he would feel the same way.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "He'll be okay."

She shook her head "I have to be with him." She got up and gave him Togepi. "Tell Mrs. Ketchum I had to leave. Cerulean Gym. Its urgent."

He nodded. "I'll think of something."

"Thanks." She said and ran off.

Misty sprinted in the direction of Ash's house full speed. She had to get to him, she had to do something. Stopping momentarily to get her wind back she bent over to support herself, hands on her knees.

She grimaced; it felt like a knife was jammed in between her ribs. She head to be with him, she had to…

All of a sudden she jolted upright, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. Was someone following her?

Looking behind her, she saw no one. That was weird, but the feeling was still there. Someone, or some_thing_ was behind her. She looked as far down the road as she could but the only activity was a small little whirlwind throwing about leaves.

Almost as sudden as it had come, the feeling vanished.

Looking up the adjacent hill, she saw that she was walking across Viridian Cemetery. She laughed; maybe she was just being paranoid. But looking up further, she spotted Ash.

"Ash!" she called and ran after him. Reaching the top of the hill, she stopped at about a dozen yards from his still frame. He was seated atop a tombstone staring at some shiny object in his hand. Both he and the stone were facing away from her.

"Ash," she called softly.

Hearing his name, the boy jumped and hastily shoved the object in his pocket. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to come see how you were doing." She said.

"I'm fine." He said and looked away from her.

"Ash, you are _not _fine." She shot back "You've been acting weird ever since we got here. Look, I don't know what your problem is, but you can't keep going on like this! Brock and I are your friends; you know you can come to either one of us if there's something bothering you. And you didn't have to snap at your mother either, she only wanted to help you, Ash all _we _wanted to do is help you!"

Ash moved to stare at the grave he was sitting on "I don't want you to help me! Just leave me alone! It's not of your friggin business what's wrong with me, and I never asked you to show any concern. Just go away!" This more than pissed Misty off.

"You know what? Fine! Hang out in some stupid graveyard instead of with your friends and family! You're such an imbecile you know that? Grow up! Oh, and, even if you do decide you wanna talk to someone, go to your mother or to Brock but don't come to me okay because I don't care, you hear me? I DON'T CARE!" And with that she sprinted all the way back to Pallet Town.

Ash watched her go until she disappeared from view, but instead of following her he slowly walked off in another direction where he could be alone with his thoughts.

It had been drawn to the girl this time. That was strange, why was it drawn to her? It was not connected to her. But she seemed to be connected to him. Emotionally. That must be why. He felt many emotions when he was near her: lament, concern, worry, unhappiness. She seemed to have felt It too, that's why she turned around. She didn't see It of course; It was invisible to all humans; only high-level Ghost pokemon were able to see It clearly.

It could sense him again. He was farther down to the East. Again It felt drawn to him. His feelings were the strongest they had been in a while and they were pulling It towards him. It felt that tug, that pull that was coming from him. It had to do something, or else it would continue to follow his aura around everywhere. Or at least until the time had past.

Earlier, at the graveyard, when the girl had shown up. Suddenly it had an idea. Sensing the direction that the pull was coming from, It rushed forward with all speed.

Misty trudged home as hot as all the fires of Hell, the setting sun she was sure couldn't compare to how heated she felt. What an asshole, didn't he know she was just looking out for him? She couldn't take this. First he made a scene at dinner, and then yelled at her when she offered him consolation, now she runs after him worried and again he doesn't care.

She bit her lip in an effort to prevent the tears. Well it didn't matter to her anymore. He can sulk around as long as he wants, she didn't care.

She pushed open the front door to the Ketchum residence and stepped into the living room where Ash's mom, Brock and the pokemon were.

Mrs. Ketchum who was dusting a vase caught sight of her out of the corner of her eye.

"Misty, are you okay? You look upset."

Brock who was sitting on the couch reading looked up from his book and asked her a similar question.

"Nothing, just…._him._" she said pissed. "I found him at the graveyard on the outskirts of Viridian. He was just sitting there, and he saw me and asked what I wanted, I told her I just came to see him and he…oh…" She rubbed her forehead.

"A graveyard," Delia mused. "Why would he be in a graveyard?" She stood thinking for a moment, her forefinger on her chin. Then a thought came to her. "Misty, what day is today?"

"The twenty-first," she replied, "why do you ask?"

Delia's eyes went wide and she put her hands to her face. "Misty, sweetie, I think you better come with me."

Pushing past the young girl, she opened the front door and walked outside. Misty followed her being motioned at to do so. Walking back down the direction she had just come, she kept asking Mrs. Ketchum questions such as 'Where are you taking me?' and 'What's going on?' Throughout her constant questions though, Ash's mom stayed silent, until finally they had reached back at the graveyard where she had last seen the sad, dark haired boy.

Delia stopped in front of a gravestone which Misty recognized as the one Ash had been sitting on. She motioned for Misty to walk towards it.

Misty did so. She reached it and read the inscriptions engraved on the other side. When she had done so, she covered her moth with her hands and said "Oh my god." For carved into the tablet was:

Sage Ketchum

1990-2031

Left behind a wife and son, who miss him terribly.

Gone, but not forgotten

Above the name was a picture of the man that lay below her feet. A muscular man with a scraggly beard and moustache, and hair just like his sons grinned kindly at her.

Mrs. Ketchum finally spoke. "We were walking home one day after an afternoon in the park," she said sadly "when this young boy approached us and demanded my husbands wallet." Tears started to creep down her cheeks. "He couldn't have been any more than sixteen. When Sage refused to hand it over, he shot him."

Misty let out a small gasp.

"To boy ran away and we called for help. Professor Oak who just happened to be driving by saw us and rushed him to the hospital." The tears were flowing harder now. "He died the following afternoon. The bullet was lodged deep into his heart. He was bleeding internally and they needed to do a blood transfusion. After contacting Saffron for the right blood type they said he would be ok, but by the time the packets had arrived," she began to cry harder "He was already…" she fell to her knees, covered her face with her hands and started to bawl.

Misty rushed over to Delia and wrapped her arms around her. "Oh, Mrs. Ketchum, I'm sorry I had no idea…"

Delia sniffled. "Don't be." She said and wiped her eyes. Bringing herself to her feet she told her, "Tomorrow will be the seventh anniversary of his death. Ash must have known the day was approaching, that's why he's been behaving the way he has. Oh Misty, he was so close to his father. When the doctor told us he passed away, Ash was wrecked. He cried and cried all night and all day. At the funeral, he leaned on Sage's dead body and bawled until he couldn't stand up, begging God aloud to please give him back."

Now it was Misty's turn to cry.

"Professor Oak offered us his condolences. He said if we ever needed anything to just ask. Samuel was Sages best friend; he's Ash's godfather. Its no wonder he pushed and encouraged him so much on his Pokemon journey. We've tried to deal with it, but it's been hard. Oh Misty, don't you see?"

Misty sobbed and nodded. "I do Mrs. Ketchum, I'm-"I'm so sorry I was mean to him!"

"It's okay dear." She said and walked Misty away from her husband's grave. "I just hope…that Ash will be okay."

They reached home again and found that Brock had made some hot chocolate after having a cup for herself she ran upstairs and balled. How could she have been so heartless? Ash was simply mourning, mourning for his father. Sure he had taken out his anger on them, but could she really blame him? She sobbed harder. And she had said those horrible things to him. With how he was feeling, she must have pushed him over the edge. What if he does something drastic? What if he decides it's not worth it? And that he wants to be with his dad? Oh God, she thought, what have I done?

Ash sat alone on the edge of the lake. He was crying silently to himself and asked the same question that he had been asking for seven years: Why? Why did his father have to be taken from him? Why couldn't that kid have robbed someone else? Why did he have to choose Ash's family?

He grimaced as he recalled the memory. That fateful day playing over and over in his mind.

Begin Flashback

The day was sunny and warm as The Ketchum family walked through the town square. A beautiful woman who looked too young for her age walked along side a rugged and equally fit man. The married couple laughed and joked as they made way for home. Riding on the mans back was little eight year old Ash.

"Daddy, are you ever gonna teach me how to swim?" he asked. He had been playing in the shallows of the beach down the coast when a playful Dewgong had clamped its jaw around his ankle. Ash had fought back but to no avail when the Water/Ice pokemon dragged him into the sea. It bounced and bobbed and pushed him all about, and the little boy had had fun but unfortunately couldn't keep himself afloat. Every time he went under, the pokemon pushed him back up to the surface and flung him high into the air, causing Ash to land with a large splash and laugh energetically before asking it to do it again.

His father chuckled. "I tell you what boy," he said. "I'll teach you how to swim, when you're fat enough to float!" he laughed, mocking his son's skinny physique.

"Oh honey," his wife said, he long auburn hair being swept up in the breeze. "Don't be so posh."

Ash grabbed hold of his fathers ears and stretched them outward, giving him a raspberry behind his back and blowing spit on the back of his head. "Meanie."

Sage reached behind him and tickled his son's underbelly.

"Hey!" Ash exclaimed and chuckled loudly "Stop it, your gonna make me fall off!"

When Sage tickled him harder Ash started to punch at his shoulders.

"Okay, tough guy," he said finally relieving Ash of his torture. "I'll take you to Cerulean beach tomorrow, and before the day is over, you'll be swimmin'"

"You mean it?" his son asked.

"I promise."

"Yay!"

"Then maybe I'll teach you how to train pokemon like the greatest master there is!" he said laughing and striking the V for victory pose. His son also laughed and repeated the gesture.

Delia smiled brightly at the relationship between her husband and son. She knew she should be grateful, how many women her age could brag that they'd married their childhood sweetheart? And that they not only had a wonderful home, in a wonderful neighborhood, but a wonderful son to boot?

As they continued to walk down the road home, a boy of about twice Ash's age came up to them. He was tall, and reached almost Sage's height of six feet. He wore a jacket over a gray T-shirt and faded baggy jeans over old and dirty sneakers. The wind rustled his dark blonde hair and he stared at them seriously with glass green eyes.

Delia eyed him quizzically. "Can we…help you?"

He was staring at Sage, his expression unchanged. "You can help me to your wallet."

Sage blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Your wallet sir. I only need about everything you've got." he said.

Sage laughed and balanced Ash further up on his back. "Look kid, I don't know what you think this is but, you cant just go around saying things like that to people. I'm sorry if your having financial problems," he remarked taking in his homely appearance "but you cant just demand that—" He was cut short as the youth drew a .44 Magnum out of his jackets left pocket. "Kid—"

"I'm not playing around sir, hand over your money."

"Kid just calm down."

"NOW!"

He let Ash down off his shoulders and gave him to Delia. "Deli, get him as far away from hear as you can. You hear me?"

"Sage, don't—"

"Don't argue with me!" he whispered loudly "Just do it!"

Delia was shaking; she was frightened for her husband. But she took hold of her son regardless and scuffled past the blonde haired youth. He didn't do anything to stop her.

"Last chance, give me your money." He said.

Ash, being carried on his mother's bosom looked up over her shoulder. "Daddy?"

"Look kid, just relax. You don't have to do this."

"Momma, what's that boy over there doing? Why does daddy look so scared?" Delia didn't answer; her walk broke into a jog.

"You've got five seconds." He cocked back the hammer "Five."

"Momma, that boy's gonna hurt Daddy!' Delia started to cry.

"Kid put the gun down. We can talk."

"Four."

Momma! Momma do something!" She did. She began jogging faster.

"Put the gun down! Look kid, if you fire a bullet out here, there's gonna be pandemonium."

"Three."

"There's gone be police out here in a heartbeat."

Just give him the god damn money, Delia, now running, thought to herself.

"Two."

"Do you wanna go to jail? Do you wanna spend the rest of your life in prison?"

"One."

"Daddy!" young Ash shouted from over his mother's shoulder.

BLAM!

His mother turned around. "Sage!"

BLAM!

Her husband collapsed and his assailant jump over his body, fished around in his pocket for his wallet, then once he had found it, ran off into the street.

Delia ran towards her lover, her heart racing.

"Daddy!" Ash called over to his father, who lay on the ground, unmoving. "Daddy!" Ash's whole world began to come down. "Daddy!" His inside felt twisted, he was gonna be sick. "Daddy!" Finally the tears came. "Daddy NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

End Flashback

Ash shivered, a sudden gust of wind had passed which chilled him to the bone. When the news had come that he had died, Ash just couldn't believe he was gone. He had taught him how to ride a bike, he had taken him out observe pokemon in their natural habitat from time to time, he had said to him "One day, those pokemon out there are gonna obey your every command. One day, your gonna be a great trainer just like your old man.' Ash swore that if he ever got his hands on the one that took his father from him, he would rip him limb from limb.

He sighed. The memory of his father haunted him, but it also drove him on. Every pokemon he caught, he did so with pride and dignity, every battle he was in, he came out victorious. Every location he set out for, no matter what he had to do to get there, no matter whether he had to go through rain, hail, or godforsaken snow he got there and each time it made him a stronger person. His heart had swelled with joy when his mother told him after reaching Viridian in one day that it took his dad a week to get there, because he was sure his father was looking down on him from Heaven and all throughout his journey Ash had wanted to make him proud.

But whenever the day of his death came near, he couldn't help but lament. Ash's father was everything Ash had wanted to be. He had made up his mind a long time ago that when he got older, after he was done with his journeys, that he would write a memoir of his fathers life in order to come to terms with his death, and just so the whole world would know how great of a man he was.

Ash gazed out at the sapphire blue lake, his heart heavy.

Misty was still crying when a strong gust of wind filled the room. It was so cold; it chilled her down to her marrow. Out of the gaps in her fingers she glimpsed something shiny. Moving her hands away from her face, she looked over at the bureau by the window and saw right next to the lamp, a small golden locket.

She picked it up. It was heart shaped; inside was a picture of her hand Ash. It was an old pic of them on the beach at Acapulco. Misty had one arm around his neck and was grinning. Her other hand was doing the V for victory sign. Ash was also grinning and doing the sign. Under the locket was a note.

She picked up the pink envelope on which her name was written in cursive writing, and tore it open.

_Dear Misty,_

_I know you and I haven't gotten on that well in the past and I know there are probably a million other guys out there who are probably a lot better than me. But I want you to know that all these years, even though I haven't always shown it, I have felt a deep longing in my heart to be with you. Misty, I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. There isn't a woman out there whom I can say compares to you. _

_Every time I battled, you were there to give me encouragement. Every time I fell flat on my face, you were there to help me up. You have done so much for me in the past, Misty, and I want to do just as much for you. I know you'll probably say no, and I know that you may think I'm just an immature kid, but I promise you, if you choose to be with me Misty, I will give you all my heart, and make you the happiest person to walk God's green earth._

Misty brought her hand up to her mouth in order to stifle a sob. Ash didn't hate her after all, he _loved_ her! She couldn't believe it. Her prayers had been answered, her dreams had come true! She sprinted out the room, down the stairs and out of the house. She was going to be with Ash after all, and she needed to find him.

Standing outside his house however, she realized she didn't have any clue where he was, she didn't even know where to start looking.

_The large lake down Route Three._

She turned, who said that? Some one had spoken in her ear just now, but looking around she saw no one. Well no matter, she knew where Ash was, and she was determined to let him know how she felt. She made a break for Route Three. The large lake, that's where she had first met Ash, when she fished him up along with a Gyarados. More determined than ever, she sprinted forward at breakneck speed.

Ash sat gazing thoughtfully out at the lake when all of a sudden he heard an all too familiar voice call out his name. He turned around and saw Misty running toward him, when she got close enough she threw her arms around him.

"Oh Ash, I'm sorry for what I said to you. Ash, I found your locket," she held it up for him to see. "and your note," she held that up too. "and I wanted to tell you that I love you too. Oh Ash, I've wanted to tell you for ages! But I was afraid, afraid you would say no, but to find out that you love me back, oh Ash it's the greatest feeling in the world!"

He patted the left leg of his jeans. "Misty, I—"

"Shh, don't say anything." She put a finger on his lips and kissed his cheek. "Come on, let's go home." And together the walked arm in arm back down Route Three and in the direction of Pallet Town.

Ash was blissful at the news that Misty loved him too, but he just couldn't figure it out. The locket had been in his pocket not long before, he stuffed it and the note in there quickly when Misty had found him at the graveyard and he knew he still had it when he had come to the lake. So how did it end up in her hands?

High above the lake, and under the crescent moon, the ghost of Sage Ketchum drifted aimlessly. He looked down on the new couple and smiled. "I'm watchin over you kid, and you know it. I'm glad to see you happy, and I know you'll make this young woman happy too," He looked far across the tops of the trees and set his view down on a small picturesque house with one light on in its living room. "Just like your mother made me…"

Inside Ash's house, Delia Ketchum stood over the sink doing dishes. _Just like your mother made me… _She let out a 'huh?' and looked out the window to wear her husbands vesper floated. But she didn't see him of course, only the moon filling the sky with its harmonic light.

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That's all folks! Sorry if I made Brock a little dull and inactive, I felt I didn't need him all too much so I only used him when absolutely necessary, the same with Pikachu and Togepi. Remember to send me your reviews, I'd like to hear what you think of my writing. It's my passion and I want to develop it as much as I can. Until next time this is Rayza16 signing off!


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